The Forgotten Summer Birthday
by CharmHazel
Summary: These are the thoughts and feelings of Ginny Weasley on her birthdays from the age of 11 till her coming of age.
**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

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 **August 11** **th** **1992 – The Burrow…..**

Eleven. She was finally eleven. Yes, she was eleven today. And she knew what that meant. She was finally old enough to attend Hogwarts with her brothers. No more getting left behind.

The Hogwarts letters were due to arrive any day now and with them would be her acceptance letter to the school she had dreamed of going to for as long as she could remember. Hopefully it would come today and make her birthday extra special.

She realised that in actual fact that her birthday was already shaping up to be the best birthday she had ever had, all because Harry Potter was here at her house. The Boy who Lived was in her home, the boy who she had a crush on from the moment she'd been told his story was here and would be celebrating her birthday with her and her family.

The only problem was that she had found herself unable to be around him. She couldn't talk to him and if he spoke to her, she would blush and run away. She continually embarrassed herself in front of him. It annoyed her that she acted the way she did around him because it just wasn't who she was. Maybe today she could stop acting like an idiot around him and she could show him who the real Ginny was. Maybe then he would want to be her friend.

Thinking about Harry made her also realise that the young wizard was probably unaware that it was her birthday today. Therefore, she realised she could not expect a present from him. She did not feel disappointed at the prospect. In all honesty, the thought of him just being here was the perfect gift.

In the end, her birthday ended up being her best birthday so far. Her mum made all her favourite foods at each meal. She spent the day with her brothers, her parents and Harry. She loved all her presents. But most of all, she loved the simple 'Happy Birthday' greeting Harry had given her, even if she did blush profusely and mumble a thank you to him in return.

Yes, it had been a perfect day and now she was counting down the days until she finally began Hogwarts.

* * *

 **August 11** **th** **1993 – Egypt…..**

Twelve. She had turned twelve. And the excitement of it being her birthday was just not there like it usually was. And most definitely not like it was last year.

Last year, she had been so excited, but then she got a hold of that awful diary and everything changed. While she may not remember a lot of what had happened, the idea of being possessed, actually knowing she had been possessed by Lord Voldemort had changed her. She just wasn't sure if it was for the better or not.

Twelve. She didn't feel like she was twelve. She felt so much older.

No! She was not going to dwell on something she could barely remember. She was stronger than that. She knew she was. She had been told that she was.

She was going to use that strength to move on, to have a better year. She was going to return to Hogwarts with her head held high, make new friends and do her upmost best to do well in her studies.

That just left her with one small problem, Harry.

She no longer had a crush on The Boy who Lived. Nope, she now had a crush on the boy who had saved her. Harry, her hero. However, she was unsure how to deal with him or even approach him. Until she saw him at the end of the summer, she would have to stop worrying about him, but even saying that, she knew she couldn't. How could she when she knew he was staying at The Leaky Cauldron all by himself?

Oh how she wished she had the guts to write to him!

No, no, no! She was going to forget everything and have an amazing day celebrating her 12th birthday, even if she didn't feel like she was twelve. She was currently on holiday in Egypt with her family and her two favourite brothers, Bill and Charlie, were here with them. She knew they would make sure that her day was special, especially as neither had attempted to tip toe around the issue of what had happened this past school year.

Her plan was to plaster a huge smile on her face, even if it didn't reflect what she was truly feeling on the inside. Enjoying herself on her birthday, while in Egypt with her family, was the first step towards her becoming a strong and confident young woman, rather than allowing herself to remain caught in the memories of a shy and naïve girl.

* * *

 **August 11** **th** **1994 – The Burrow…..**

Thirteen. That age meant she was now officially a teenager. She felt good, she felt happy, and she was thirteen.

No longer was she the naïve girl from two years ago. No longer was she the unhappy girl from a year ago. The only real thing keeping her back now was her crush on Harry Potter.

It was not as awkward to be around him as when they had first met, but she still blushed and struggled to talk to him, but she was getting better. She knew she needed advice and she needed it fast. Perhaps she could ask Hermione when she arrived at The Burrow. She was certain that Harry's best friend could help her. She didn't want to make a fool of herself around him in front of her entire family, especially when they went to the Quidditch World Cup next week.

She couldn't believe her dad had managed to secure tickets to the World Cup final for all of them, including Hermione and Harry. While it may not be her birthday present, it was a brilliant present nonetheless. She was so excited about going to see a world class quidditch match. She had dreams of playing quidditch professionally when she finished Hogwarts, not that any of the family knew that. Then again, none of them really knew she could fly or that she could fly really well. It was still a couple of years before she could try out for the house team, but she couldn't wait to surprise everyone with how well she flew.

Even better than that was the fact her entire family was altogether for her birthday for the second year in a row. However, this year, no one was tip toeing around her or trying to tread carefully with what they said to her for the fear of upsetting her. No, this year, everyone was in good spirits. Bill and Charlie had both said it was down to her being in a better place, thanks to her being genuinely happy this year.

And she was. She was genuinely happy. She had achieved her goals she had set herself on her birthday last year. She had returned to Hogwarts with her head held high, not that anyone had truly known the full extent of her part in the fiasco of the chamber. She had finally made friends in her year, rather than shy away as she had done in her first year. She had found true friends in Luna, a Ravenclaw in her year who lived on the other side of Ottery St Catchpole, and Colin, an amazing photographer who was slightly obsessed with Harry. And she had worked really hard with the support and help of Professor McGonagall to not only catch up with any work she may have missed or struggled with the previous year, but to also keep up and do well with her second year classes. She was quite honestly proud of herself for returning to the school and not allowing the events of the previous year from keeping her from truly doing well at the school.

That was not to say she did not still have nightmares, because she did. The presence of Dementors at the school this past year had not helped, but she had not allowed it to get her down too much. Especially considering when she saw how much Harry suffered from being near the nasty creatures and he had managed to use it to his advantage to learn a way to repel them. So she took her cue from him and did her best to not allow them to affect her. She had made it through the year without too many problems.

So yes, she was happy and in a good place. Now she could truly enjoy her birthday and look forward to returning to Hogwarts.

* * *

 **August 11** **th** **1995 – Grimmauld Place…..**

Fourteen. And she felt forgotten. She had turned fourteen and she felt like she was not important.

But she was not angry, she couldn't be. It was not their fault. It was Tom's, it was the ministry's, and it was everyone's who had decided to turn against Harry.

Everything had changed again. And not for the good.

Even she had changed, but she felt the changes in her were positive ones. Her crush on Harry had disappeared, though she would not deny that she still had some feelings for him, but she was still trying figure out just how much they had changed. She had gone on her first date with Neville to Yule Ball, where she had met Michael Corner, who she had shared her first kiss with and was now dating. As a result, she had been able to move past the embarrassing crush she'd had on Harry and become his friend.

She was becoming the strong and confident young woman she wanted to be. She had changed so much in the past three years and while she would not wish the experiences she had been through on anyone, she knew those experiences were what had helped her become the person she was today.

And that thought only brought her back to where she was right now. Forgotten.

She still couldn't blame her family. They were stuck in this house for their protection, all thanks to the return of Tom Riddle. Harry had arrived at the house feeling angry after being nearly expelled for the use of magic outside of school and in front of a muggle. He was set to go on trial tomorrow and now everyone was worried and in a panic of what would happen if they stuck to the original planned expulsion. And that left Ginny's 14th birthday forgotten.

Well, nearly all but forgotten.

Harry had, even with the anger he was carrying about, wished her a 'Happy Birthday' and then apologised for not having got her present. She had told him it was not a problem, knowing he had other things on his mind at this point in time. Just the fact he remembered was gift enough for her.

Then there was Harry's godfather, Sirius Black. He had cottoned on to her feelings for Harry from the moment they met. Either that, it was just because she was a redhead, just like Lily Potter and as Sirius had declared, Potter men always fall for redheads. She had tried to forget that, she didn't want to get her hopes up that it could be true and that Harry could potentially fall for her. Despite that, she had gotten on well with him, with their mutual love for Harry bringing them together as friends. He had managed to sneak up a cupcake for her and wished her a 'Happy Birthday' as well.

But it wasn't the same. She didn't want to be forgotten. And yet, she didn't want a huge fuss. Maybe they will remember tonight at dinner or after the trial if it was successful in Harry's favour.

Fourteen was not going to be a great age. She suspected that this year would be yet another tough year and not just for Harry, but for everyone else as well.

* * *

 **August 11** **th** **1996 – The Burrow…..**

Fifteen. She was fifteen today and it was going to be a good day. It was definitely a good day to be fifteen.

It had been a tough year, just as she had suspected. At the same time, though, it had been an interesting one. But still, she was glad to be fifteen.

The past year had involved one evil Toad-faced professor, an illegal defence club, her dad being attacked by a snake, one angry Harry Potter, fighting Death Eaters at the Ministry and the death of Sirius Black. Tough, horrible, heart-breaking were the words she would use to describe the entire year as a whole. And yet, one good positive had come out of all that, not that he would see it considering he was pretty much falling to pieces throughout it, but Harry had been an amazing person to be around, despite the anger he had held in him.

They had become friends this year, actual real friends. She had stood up to him, put him in his place, supported him, listened to him and fought alongside him. And yet she could sense something changing between them. This summer they had been spending lots of time together, getting to know one another, they were becoming closer as the days went by. She felt honoured to be considered his friend and that he was her friend. Whether it ever became more though, she wasn't certain and she would not get her hopes up.

She had spent most of the year dating Michael Corner, though in all honesty she wasn't sure why. Now she was dating Dean Thomas and she actually really liked him. It made it easier to push aside any lingering feelings she had for Harry and accept just being his friend. Though, if she was honest with herself, she would probably dump Dean in a heartbeat if Harry showed signs of liking her and wanting to be with her.

Still, she was not going to linger on those thoughts. She was feeling good and happy again this year. It was going to be a good day. There would be no being forgotten, no false hopes and dreams, no nightmares, no unhappiness, no being left out and certainly no awkwardness. She was going to have a brilliant birthday with her family and two of her closest friends.

And this year, she was going to be positive and happy. She was truly becoming the person she wanted to be. No one doubted her abilities as a witch or even as a quidditch player. She felt like it was going to shape up to be a brilliant day and a brilliant year. And with Tom now out in the open, she was going to make the most of what peaceful days they were given now, starting with today, her 15th birthday.

* * *

 **August 11** **th** **1997 – The Burrow…..**

Sixteen. Turning sixteen sucked. It was horrible and depressing. She didn't want to be sixteen. Fifteen was so much easier and happier than being sixteen.

For the first time, in a long time, she was not in the mood to celebrate her birthday. She just didn't see the point when the one person that would make her birthday worth celebrating was not even here.

She blamed Tom. It was always his fault. Any birthday she'd had since starting Hogwarts that had not been decent and fun like when she was little had been his fault. The nightmares she suffered after she was possessed by him just as she was turning 12 or when she turned 14 and he had gained back his body, but had managed to keep his return private enough that the Ministry had not believed Harry's claims that he was back. And now he had ruined her 16th birthday, all by taking over the ministry and causing many people, including the one person she so desperately wanted to be with, to go into hiding.

Her mood was so bad that she had refused to get out of bed when her mum had called her to breakfast. She knew that her favourite breakfast would be down there in the kitchen all ready for her to eat and that there would be probably some presents, but she didn't care. Her mum had even come up to encourage her to get up and celebrate, but her only response was to say she was not in the mood to do so. She couldn't even confide in her own mother as to why she didn't want to celebrate, because no one knew why or what had happened to make her be like this. She had chosen months ago not to tell the family until she had returned home for the summer, but by then there was really nothing to tell.

Her mood was all down to her simply missing Harry.

She hated the fact that they'd only had a couple of months together as a couple. She hated that with Dumbledore's death Harry had pushed her away for her own safety and his own sanity. She hated that she never got to tell him how she truly felt about him before he escaped. She hated that he was not here to celebrate her birthday with her. She hated that he could no longer hold her or kiss her. She hated it; therefore she was not in the mood to acknowledge her birthday.

Sixteen for her now represented fear and uncertainty. For once, she truly could not fathom what was to come.

* * *

 **August 11** **th** **1998 – The Burrow…..**

Seventeen. That was a great age to be. Seventeen meant she was of age. She was no longer bound by the trace. She was, in the eyes of the wizarding world, an adult. She was finally seventeen and she was unbelievably happy.

It had been a horrendous year, terrifying and dark times had been experienced by everyone, but the war was now over. So many people they loved had died, including Fred, but so many had also survived, including Harry. Her separation from the love of her life had been hard, but he was back and they were together.

Most importantly, in her eyes, was the fact that Harry had told her he loved her, barely minutes after they had reunited. They had been inseparable ever since.

She was the woman she wanted to be. She felt strong, she felt comfortable and she felt loved, so completely loved and wanted. She was no longer the wide eyed, excited, naïve and shy girl from six years ago. So much had happened to her, to her family, to Harry and they had somehow made it through and it had changed her in ways she could not describe. Yes, she was the person she had always wanted to be.

She couldn't wait to see what her birthday would bring. She couldn't wait to see what the year would bring. Actually, she couldn't wait to see what the future would bring for her and Harry.

Seventeen. She loved seventeen. It was a good age to be. She was happy, she was in love, the world was finally at peace, Tom was gone, and life was good.

All was well.


End file.
